Court orders one-month detention for Damir Hadžić

The Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office proposed one-month detention for Damir Hadžić, former mayor of Sarajevo's Novi Grad municipality and former minister in the Council of Ministers of BiH, and the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo ordered one-month detention, writes Patria. 

The motion to impose one-month detention was filed due to the risk of influencing witnesses, concealing evidence, and the risk of re-offending.

Hadžić is suspected of the criminal offense of abuse of position and authority, while expert witness Kasim Zulum is suspected of the criminal offense of abuse of assessment.

The Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office accuses Hadžić of paying one million KM to the suspect Esed Radeljaš, and the other arrested person, Kasim Zulum, of abusing the authority of an expert witness who assessed the value of the disputed land belonging to Radeljaš.

In 2006, Radeljaš was allocated municipal land in Nedžarići for which he paid a fee of 44,404 marks. The Law on Construction Land of the Federation of BiH states that state land cannot be allocated to a natural person without a public call. The consent for the allocation of land to Radeljaš without a public call was also given by the public attorney.

Radeljaš's right to the land was revoked in 2010 because he did not fulfill his obligations and build a commercial facility within the legally prescribed period. When Radeljaš's right to dispose of the land was revoked, he requested compensation from the municipality. After an expert assessment of the land's value, an order was issued to pay Radeljaš 1.03 million marks, which is 23 times more than he paid.

The order to pay compensation to Radeljaš was signed at the beginning of 2010. At that time, he was a municipal councilor in Novi Grad, having won a mandate in the 2008 local elections as a candidate of the Bosniak Party (BOSS).

In the same operation, Esed Radeljaš, Nedžad Kapetanović, and Jusuf Čaušević were previously arrested. One-month detention was ordered for Esed Radeljaš, and restrictive measures were imposed on Jasmina Horo, Nedžad Kapetanović, and Jusuf Čaušević.